SANTA CLARA — Joe Staley’s young daughters, Grace and Audrey, flanked him as he sat on his 49ers helmet after the first practice of training camp.

Staley gazed at the green-grass horizon, at the ground No. 74 has tilled since arriving as a 2007 first-round draft pick out of Central Michigan. On the cusp of his 13th season, he soaked up the scenery and relished his family’s presence.

Fast forward to last Sunday night’s 26-21 win at Seattle to ice the regular season. Staley wiped tears from his eyes as he walked off CenturyLink Field. He was a victor for the first time in Seattle in eight years.

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

In these past four months between training camp and the upcoming playoffs, Staley endured an emotional and physical grind greater than any other 49er.

“Yeah, it’s been a hard year,” Staley, 35, said. “But it feels good to be in this position right now and have the bye.”

The 49ers (13-3) are the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time in Staley’s career, offering an inviting path to his first Super Bowl win and a just reward for a team that’s overcome a slew of injuries, including Staley’s fractured fibula Sept. 15 and shattered knuckle Nov. 11.

So why did he uncharacteristically gush with emotion Sunday night? Because the 49ers’ last playoff run ended in Seattle with the 2013 season’s NFC Championship Game defeat, and because they had lost eight straight visits until Sunday night’s down-to-the-wire escape.

“I was just happy, man. Just happy,” Staley said. “I don’t know. There was no reason behind it. It just kind of happened.

“It kind of surprised me. I was laughing with some guys, saying ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this right now.’ “

His teammates knew why, however.

“Joe’s emotion was well deserved, with all the things he’s been through and put himself through while staying the course and waiting for moments like we have this season,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “It’s really special to see he can have that opportunity.”

Right guard Mike Person echoed that explanation, noting how Staley’s “been through it all” and deserves this success for his long-term commitment to the franchise.

For the 49ers to win the NFC West and the No. 1 seed, Staley played a pivotal role in beating the Seahawks, now the No. 5 seed. Specifically, he silenced the Seahawks’ Jadeveon Clowney, who dominated Staley and McGlinchey in Seattle’s Nov. 11 overtime win over the 49ers.

“He was unbelievable. He looked like Joe Staley again,” McGlinchey said. “These last few weeks, he’s been building and building.”

The Nov. 11 loss to Seattle was Staley’s first game back since sustaining a hairline fracture in a Week 2 win at Cincinnati. The muscles in his leg hadn’t fully recovered, and Staley got further sidetracked by ensuing back pain and a right ring finger that was fractured and dislocated.

“I’ve seen him battle through his fair share of injuries since I got here and he doesn’t complain, just keeps chugging along,” said wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, Staley’s locker neighbor. “I see why he’s played a long time in this league, because he’s built the right way.”

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Three games later, he’s back to being “the best left tackle in the NFL again,” said McGlinchey, Staley’s unabashed No. 1 fan, at least beyond Grace, Audrey and their mom, Carrie Staley.